The present invention relates to fishing lures and, more particularly, to lures incorporating electronic means for generating a visual display simulating a natural fish bait.
Fishing lures have been provided in the past with means for selectively changing a visual display of a natural bait, such as a minnow, or a color or pattern calculated to attract fish and cause them to strike at the lure. Such devices are found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,764,834, 3,210,882 and 3,336,692, each having means for holding and moving a film strip to expose a selected frame or portion thereof through a transparent section of the lure body. The image on the film, of course, is stationary and provides no illusion of motion.
A popular means of providing displays of alpha-numeric characters, as well as other two-dimensional images of both fixed and variable types is that known as a liquid crystal display. Commercially available reflective type liquid crystal displays generally comprise top and bottom glass plates with a liquid crystal material sandwiched therebetween. An electrical field may be applied to selected segments of the liquid crystal material to change the light-transmissive properties thereof to produce, in cooperation with ligh polarizing layers, the desired image or visual display. By alternating the portions of the liquid crystal material to which the electrical field is applied the display may be varied, and an illusion of motion may be created.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a fishing lure of novel and improved design incorporating a liquid crystal display to simulate a natural bait.
A further object is to provide a fishing lure wherein any of a plurality of visual displays of different natural fish baits may be selectively provided.
Another object is to provide a fishing lure including means displaying a visual image of a natural fish bait which appears to be moving.
A still further object is to provide a fishing lure having a body portion incorporating a liquid crystal display of a natural fish bait with a fish hook retained in a position on the body in cooperative relation to the visual display.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.